Kate22192

True, true. Problem is I really likely won't have much room to do that. I'm living at home now with about 23k left in undergrad. It should be paid off aout May/June next year, and then I'll be doing prereqs; two in spring, two summer, two fall (so applying with 6 under belt), at about $1000 each, that's another 6k. I'm hoping to move out sometime shortly after the undergrads are paid, so between paying rent/living expenses somewhere and the pre-reqs as I go....no money left to save :'(

Do you mean that the entire program for Emerson ended up costing 20k then?? Not bad at all....what kinds of funding did you receive? Of course, living there means cost of living in Boston, too

I'm in a similar position. I know I'd be a mess in mental health ten years from now; school system seems to be a better place.

the funded PhD is a great idea if it's for you, but that amount of school and research is so not me. blech. But yeah, mental health is serious wear and tear. The public service loan forgiveness seems cool, but don't you have to be in that sector 10 years? Like, who knows if I'll still be in public schools 10 years down the road. It's tough.

hahah good point. Hey, even if a TA can give me $5000 a year, I'll take it

That's a good point. After being in the real world after school for a bit, I've come to feel this way too. No job is going to be perfect and honestly, even people who like their jobs don't want to be there half the time. But SLP seems to be a good field. Versatile, good job market, and you're doing something to help people! Kids, adults, big wide range. I wish there was some way to be guaranteed a grad assistantship or something, haha. Like....tell me you'll fund my first year, then I'll go!!!

I do intend to shadow, yeah. I mean, I'm in mental health now and I want out. This is not where I see myself continuing; too emotionally taxing, too close to home for me, and absolutely no money in it. Sooo SLP seems like a solid option for me.

Do you happen to know of any prominent ones for the field?

Okay as for this, another thing is it isn't really my "dream job," I don't know. I like SLP because I like the idea of being in a helping profession, helping children communicate, but I wouldn't say I'm super passionate about it.

Hmm...the problem is, the whole huge process of relocating to somewhere I honestly probably don't want to be (nothing against anyone who loves the midwest or deeper south...!) seems not worth it if it's just to save a few thousand. It would have to be the difference between 50k in Jersey and like...20 somewhere else, haha

This is all why I'm really not sure how to do it. Again, cost is a MAJOR decision for me, so I'm staying in state. There are only a few (5-6) schools in NJ that offer SLP, and none are 'cheap' from what I can see. Seems like I'll easily be set by 50k and that's without cost of living expenses. Anyone from Jersey who can comment on how they did it or plan to??

Well, I know loans are unavoidable. My question is how much COULD BE avoidable. I took out about 54k in undergrad loans and have it down to 24, will have it gone by about next May/June at the rate I'm going. But honestly....the prospect of taking out ANOTHER 50k just seems so insane! I want SLP partly to make decent money, much more than I make now, at a job I should hopefully enjoy. But is it worth it to take out 50k more just to make 60k and pay off that stuff for 20 years? Ugh, I'm just so disheartened. Even assuming I get offered a graduate assistantship, from what I understand, those generally only occur for the first year, and just for fall and spring. Thus, I'll have at LEAST the first summer and second year fall, spring, and summer to pay. That's 4 semesters; as one example, Kean charges about $10,000 a semester. So if I'm on campus or on a nearby off-campus apartment, we're talking $40k over those semesters plus 10k or so each year in housing. 60k. What is a reasonable amount of debt to go into? How do you guys manage?!

Hey everyone. Thinking way ahead here about grad school. I've decided due to monetary and other constraints, I won't be starting prereqs till next Spring, so applying Fall 2016. Still, though I'm thinking of how to afford it, and it's so overwhelming. Honestly, one of the biggest reasons I'm interested in speech path is because right now I work in mental health with a bachelors in psych and want out of mental health due to personal reasons and the lack of any money in the field. Speech path seems like a rewarding career where I can still be in a helping profession, work in a school (which I'd like to do), and make decent money. But, how the heck do you afford grad school?! I want speech path BECAUSE I'll have some more money than what I make now, but school is so darn expensive! I'd like to stay in NJ, and any of the given schools could easily set me back 50k, and that's WITHOUT the at least 20k or so I'd need for housing. So...help?

Hm this is interesting. I guess I'll call a school up and find out if my AP Bio credit works. What's weird to me is that some schools want it DONE before you apply to them! Like Seton Hall, for example, wants all those ASHA prereqs completed before they'll let you in. I wonder why certain ones want that, and others don't...

Well shoot. That's good to know. My undergrad was psych so I've got all the behavioral stuff covered and I took STA 100. As for biology, I have AP credit but it shows up as "LBL SL LL SCIENLAB" on my transcript. I wonder if that satisfies bio? And that said, am I missing anything in thinking I'd only need the chem or physics??

Wait, so....when do you become certified? I had thought after you graduate you do a CFY. Couldn't I take a physics course during this CFY just as long as I do it before I apply for certification? Also, anyone know about AP credits? I have AP bio credit....

Hi all, In my attempt to boggle down how to go about this whole SLP business, I've stumbled across confusion with regards to certain science classes. I know ASHA requires certain things to become certified. However, I'm seeing a lot of people saying that schools require them before admission??? With regards to NJ, I see that Seton Hall requires them, but I can't find it with the others. Am I mistaken in something? Also, what all ARE the courses? I took a stats course in undergrad and have AP credit for a biology course which allowed me to bypass it....what else do I need? Thanks!

They recommend 12 courses?! See, this is what's confusing me. Since Montclair says 5 and Kean 8, I feel like I should only take up to 8! Other schools seem to want a bit more, but I figure if they let me in I could do it then....Hmm. There's so much to think about. Does anyone have experience calling and speaking to admissions counselors? I was considering doing this for each school to see what they say. Montclair in particular, as their With and Without background tracks really confuse me. I just want to make sure I'm doing enough, but not TOO much, so I can start soon. With the way I'm paying my undergrad loans right now, I'll finish them about a year from now. Ideally, if I only have to spend another 5k or so on the pre-reqs, I can also do them and PAY them as I go before I start the masters, and maybe begin it after next year.

Thank you for all the responses, everyone. Some things are still confusing to me though.... Does USU have a post-bachelors option to do a FULL post-bac? and if so, is this separate from the non-degree seeking courses? I'm just not sure how to approach this. I'm studying for the GRE now and plan to take it in June. I'd like Montclair or Kean; both are about an hour from me, tuition is doable if I get a grad assistantship. Obviously, two schools is a huge reach, so I suppose I'd also apply to Stockton, Willy P, Seton, and Monmouth. Each one has a huge variety of pre-reqs it wants, so what do I do? Kean, for instance, wants 8 courses, while Montclair wants 5. HOWEVER, if you look at Monctlair's admissions site (it won't let me paste the link), they state: "If the Speech-Language Pathology Admission Committee determines by review of official transcript(s) that an applicant has successfully completed or is currently taking 2 (or fewer) of the pre-professional courses at the time of application review, that applicant will be considered Without a Background in SLP. If an applicant Without A Background in SLP is accepted into the program but chooses to complete the pre-professional coursework prior to entering the program during the fall semester, they should be aware that a maximum of two pre-professional courses will be applied toward their work program during the advising session. Subsequently, during the summer advising session, they will be placed on the Without a Background SLP track for fall semester matriculation." What does this mean? If I enrolled in, say, three online courses in the fall and applied during the fall, without having completed them yet, what happens? Can I take the other two in the spring and be on the With a background track? I just don't get it.... Also, I do have a bit of time. I'm not going to start this summer; fall earliest. I'm going through a really really rough breakup right now and some serious anxiety issues and will be doing what I need to do to work on myself and sort all that out. The next few months I need to focus on me. But any help to plan my fall would be SERIOUSLY appreciated.

Hi everyone, I'm looking more and more into SLP but realizing how long of a process it is for an out-of-fielder. For the next year, I'll be paying off undergrad loans, then would have to do a year of post-bacc and then two years masters. This is while living at home with parents, and I don't want to be home that long if possible...kinda driving me crazy haha. So, on that note, I was thinking of seeing if I could start post-bacc classes this upcoming fall, and potentially apply while taking them?? To ideally start the masters the next fall. SO, that said, can anyone give me advice on registration for post-baccs? As it is March now, is it too late to register for fall online courses? I was looking at Utah State due to its flexibility and cheap cost, but I think I missed it...?

Thanks, everyone! Right now, I'm using Magoosh resources in conjunction with the ETS book. I've heard good things about Kaplan and Princeton, too, so maybe those could help supplement. Is it largely agreed that a post-bacc is a definite HELP in getting in? I thought it was for the most part, until I heard that some schools (Montclair) reserve a bunch of spots for out-of-fielders without pre-reqs, so it is advised not to do a post-bacc. Such a frustrating place to be in!!

Hey guys, thanks for your input! I actually haven't taken it yet. However, I've always hated math and though I'm studying a LOT, my practice tests on quant are not good. I'm worried that if I take it in about 3 months and do indeed do poorly on quant, I won't get accepted. I have a 4.0 undergrad major in psychology, and have been working full time in mental health now since December 2013. I'm still undecided on whether or not I'm doing a post-bacc, but if I do, that's of course an opportunity to make myself look better. I just worry about post-baccs because I've heard some schools (particularly Montclair, one of the ones I'd like to go to), reserve half their positions for students with no speech background, so in a way, doing a post-bacc can actually HURT...

Hey guys. Still a long way away from applying, but I'm currently prepping for the GRE, and I'm really....bad, at quantitative. Does anyone have experience with average quant scores that are good enough to get into grad school for SLP? In particular, does anyone have NJ experience with scores? Thanks!

Thank you all for your responses! It's nice to know Kean allows you to customize your post-bacc, that's certainly useful. Potential schools I'm applying to require the following: 1) Kean - 8 courses, 25 credits 2) Monmouth - 6 courses, 18 credits 3) Motclair- 5 courses, 16 credits 4) Seton Hall- 6 courses, 18 credits (*Plus a physical science; I only have AP credit from high school for Biology) 5) William Patterson- 9 courses, 27 credits 6) Richard Stockton (WAY far from me to commute, unlikely) - 5 courses, unsure on credit # Now, with this information, what to do for a post-bacc? It seems like the max needed credits is 27 for Willy P, and the others will only allow you to submit UP TO 18 credits you've taken. Wouldn't it be kind of a waste of money to do a program that's 20+ credits if I can't apply it all.....? I wonder if I should do a program such as Kean or Utah State that allows me to take the number I need, and then just do 18 or so; this would seemingly only exclude me from Willy P when it comes to NJ schools. Or do you all think it's better to just get more covered? Also, neuronparty, I definitely want to do an online post-bacc. I simply do not have the money or resources for on campus; I'm reserving that for the actual masters. On top of other issues, I'm having car trouble now too, and need to make my lil guy last as long as possible. I've heard online tends to be much easier...might it be possible to work full-time and do 3-4 online courses a semester and still do well in them?

Hi guys! Long story short, I graduated a bit over a year ago with my undergrad in psychology and have been working in mental health. I've been thinking a lot about grad school, and due to concerns of both salary and burnout, am kind of edging away from mental health....thus, I discovered SLP, and after much research, it seems like a real possibility! That said, I have a bunch of questions... 1) Post-bacc or no post-bacc? I'm in NJ and for a number of reasons, am REALLY hoping to stay local and be able to commute while living with parents. NJ schools vary from 0-5 pre-req classes (ie; Montclair) to a whopping 10-15 (William Paterson requires a bunch, I believe). What I don't totally understand is this....each school in NJ lists different pre-reqs. As in, BOTH the number and name are different. Do post-bacc programs generally apply easily across grad programs?? If I opt to do a post-bacc one, what is a suitable number of courses? I see some that are just 6, others like 15! 2) Is it feasible to do a full-time online post-bacc for a year while working full-time? Ideally, I'd like to be able to keep my job and pay the post-bacc as I go, so as only to incur debt from actual grad school itself. 3) Most economical post-baccs?? Money is a big issue for me. I'm paying off my undergrad loans currently, my family is low on economical resources, and for that and several other reasons, price is VERY important. Can anyone from personal experience recommend online post-baccs that won't break the bank? 4) Okay, so, shadowing. Some schools require it beforehand, some don't. How exactly does this WORK? You just find an SLP to shadow a few hours a week, and get that in writing, or....what? Sorry y'all, lots of questions, but I see on every post here that comments are SUPER helpful, so...thank you in advance!!! Kate